


That Which Lurks In Darkness

by Actual_Dunwich_Horror



Category: Cthulhu Mythos - H. P. Lovecraft, Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1930s, Alternate Universe - College/University, Eldritch Deities, Inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft, M/M, Psychological Horror, Well. soon, kind of experimental to see what people think, relationships to come later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-23
Updated: 2019-11-22
Packaged: 2020-05-16 19:38:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19324741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Actual_Dunwich_Horror/pseuds/Actual_Dunwich_Horror
Summary: Alexander has never really been one to believe in the occult, which is quite out of the norm for one living in Arkham, Massachusetts. That is, until he finds a strange book in the Miskatonic University library, and his whole life is turned upside down.





	1. The Library

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a little piece of something I've been working on. I wanted to see if it was something that people would be interested in seeing more of, since I've been losing motivation to continue writing it. I've always been a big fan of H.P. Lovecraft's writing (though not him as a person) and I came up with an idea involving the Avs, so... here we are. Enjoy!

Life in Arkham is never quite peaceful, but never too restless either. It’s a college city, full of young adults looking to get an education and go somewhere in life, even if it means being stuck in a city where it’s constantly overcast and full of odd… events.

Alexander is quite at peace with living there, honestly. Sure, he’s heard whisperings of weird curses on buildings, of cults worshipping odd deities in the wilderness to the south, and even the occasional rumor about his classmates not being entirely human. But he always tends to ignore that sort of talk. After all, seeing is believing, and he hasn’t seen anything to prove any of the strange events to be true.

Well… yet.

Alexander doesn’t really want any of it to be proven.

He has enough on his plate already, being a full-time college student. Miskatonic University is a very prestigious school, and he’s determined to make the most of his time there. Sure, he hasn’t exactly settled on a major (arguing that there’s too much to learn to settle on just one thing), but he loves the fulfillment that comes with completing a particularly difficult course, or learning about a rather obscure topic.

Outside of school, though… Alexander doesn’t have much. He has his family, sure, and they aren’t struggling financially, but they are miles and miles away, so he feels sort of… disconnected. Although, he makes sure to write when he can, filling in his siblings on the college life and telling his parents about the classes he takes and the opportunities he’s found from time to time.

Now, winters in Arkham were oddly cold, but it never snowed. It felt like the air would freeze and pierce into your skin, chilling you to the bone. But it never snowed, and the Miskatonic river would never freeze. This strange weather is why Alexander would stumble his way into the library after his classes most afternoons, not wanting to make the trek back to his dormitory across campus. It’s always colder in the dorms than in the main buildings, which is… not fun.

He usually just browses until he finds something that catches his eye; sometimes he’ll go for, say, a book on the anatomy of insects or maybe a civil war novel. Today, though, Alexander spots a beautifully bound book about Egyptian mythology and religion near the back of the library. 

It’s honestly nothing like any book Alexander has ever seen. It’s black with shiny golden symbols inlaid into the cover, and inside, all of the writing and illustrations seem to be done by hand. All in all, it’s just… intriguing.

He takes it and goes to sit in one of the arm chairs near the front of the library. Usually, Alexander would take it to the upper level in the furthest corner he could find, but recently he’s become acquainted with the school’s new librarian- a handsome German man by the name of Philipp, who is quite knowledgeable when it comes to most subjects. Alexander had once asked him about an astrology book and fell into deep conversation, and they’ve been fast friends ever since. 

Though, Philipp was currently in the middle of chatting with a rather boisterous young man a few years younger than Alexander, so he decides to sit down and dive into his book, not wanting to disturb Philipp or his fellow classmate.

The book had started off normal, giving a rundown of a lot of Egyptian gods such as Ra, Osiris, and Set, but as the book delved deeper, it began to discuss a rather petrifying deity who would wipe out life as it crawled along the sandy stretch of the desert.

The illustration of this deity definitely didn’t help Alexander to feel any better. It had the body of a man, but it was contorted and monstrous, and it had long, wicked legs that writhed and stretched. But the head of the deity… it towered into the air like a giant tendril, and contained a mouth that was reminiscent of the dark void of space.

The name is scrawled messily, like the illustrator’s hand had been shaking as he wrote it, but on top of that, it was written in some language Alexander had never quite seen before.

Furrowing his brow, he stands up and walks to Philipp’s desk, leaning over next to the curly haired man who Philipp had been talking to.

“Sorry to interrupt, Gru, but I’ve got a question for you.”

Philipp turns to Alexander, a bright smile on his face. “And I’ve got an answer. What can I help you with, Kerf?”

“What do you know about this book?” He asks, sliding the tome across the wood of the desk. Philipp takes it, and the usually sunny expression on his face fades. The man standing next to Alexander leans forward, trying to get a glimpse of the book, and quirks an eyebrow at Alexander.

“Egyptian mythology and religion, huh? That’s quite the hefty subject.”

Before Alexander could respond, Philipp pipes up, voice filled with concern. “I thought we got rid of this book a long time ago, but… if it’s still here…” Philipp trails off, running a hand through his hair before standing up and setting the book down. He seems disturbed, and it does not make Alexander feel any better.

“What’s going on, Dr. Grubauer? Everything alright?” asks the man next to Alexander. He’s got wide, curious eyes, and he speaks a little too loudly, Alexander notes. He has the new student look to him, and normally Alexander would be incredibly endeared by it all, but currently he’s worried about how distraught Philipp looks.

“Mr. Jost, you’re new here at Miskatonic University, correct?”

He nods, brown curls bouncing on his head. “Yeah. I’m a freshman. Why?”

“There are certain things at this school that you just don’t question,” Philipp says cryptically. It’s incredibly out of character for him to be acting this way, and it only makes Alexander feel worse. He glances over at ‘Mr. Jost’ and notices that he’s gone as stiff as a board and a bit pale. 

Philipp takes the book and places it into a drawer in his desk, takes out a key and locks it. Alexander rests a hand on the desk, practically shaking with anticipation, wondering what on earth Philipp could be going on about. “Gru, maybe we can talk about this later?” he asks, voice a bit jittery.

The German nods and takes a breath, obviously a bit shaken. “I’ll be closing the library in about an hour and a half. We can talk then. In the meantime,” he turns his attention back to Jost, “let me help you find that anatomy textbook you were asking about.”

Jost’s face lights up into an incredibly bright, goofy smile. Something inside of Alexander softens up a little. “Thanks Dr. Grubauer, I appreciate it.” He suddenly turns to Alexander, holding his hand out. “And, I don’t believe I caught your name, Mister…?”

Alexander stares, a little flustered, before snapping out of his thoughts and taking Jost’s hand, shaking it firmly. “Kerfoot. Alexander Kerfoot.” 

“It’s been a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Kerfoot. I’m Tyson Jost, by the way.” Tyson says with a wink, and it’s honestly charming enough that Alexander feels his knees go a bit weak, and then he’s gone, following Philipp through the library.

Alexander has to sit down for a moment to collect his thoughts.

 

~~~

 

As soon as the library is cleared out and settled for the night, Philipp locks the door from the inside and invites Alexander to sit with him behind his desk.

Philipp looks tired, and much more worried than earlier, which causes a tight knot of fear to sit at the bottom of Alexander’s stomach.

“Kerf, you know your way around the school quite a bit, yes?” Philipp asks, leaning back in his chair and unbuttoning his vest. 

Alexander shrugs. “I guess, yeah. I’ve taken classes in pretty much every department, and I know a lot of people. Why?”

“Have you happened to hear about a professor who used to teach here by the name of Matt Duchene?”

Alexander takes a moment to ponder, trying to see if the name rings any bells. Something in the back of his mind tells him that he’s heard it, but he can’t exactly place where. He tells Philipp as such.

Philipp breathes a sigh and rubs his forehead, as if trying to will away a headache. “Now, I may not have been around when Duchene worked for the school, but I do know that he is definitely not someone we want to mess with. He stole a very important artifact from the library archives before I came here, and used it to… well, essentially wreak havoc on Miskatonic University. It was kept quiet thanks to the police coming in and essentially threatening anyone who decided to get too loud about it.”

“That all sounds… highly suspicious, and I’m genuinely curious to know more, but what does this have to do with that book I found?” Alexander asks, eyebrows furrowed. He began to grow slightly irritated, tired of Philipp dancing around a straightforward answer.

“That book was what started the whole thing. I assume you discovered the deity mentioned in it, Nyarlathotep?”

“If that’s the horrifying thing with the tentacle head, then… yeah.” Alexander makes a mental note of the horrifying deity’s name, hoping he doesn’t butcher the pronunciation.

Philipp huffs out a small laugh and crosses his arms. “What did you feel when you first saw it?”

Alexander reminisces on the uneasy, petrifying feeling that coursed through him the first time he saw the dark inky illustration of Nyarlathotep. According to Philipp, it was a perfectly normal response.

“Duchene’s reaction was the opposite. He became obsessed with Nyarlathotep, demanding to know more. The only other book we had here with information about it was locked away, but he broke in and stole it, even though there was no way he would understand what was written in it. It was in a dead language called R’lyehian, which is-”

“Hold on. R’lyehian… I’ve heard that before. In my linguistics class. There’s a guy in there obsessed with it.” Alexander says, cutting in. He isn’t exactly friends with said student, but he knows him quite well, having shared many of the same classes and staying in dorms not too far from each other. 

This student was a red-headed young man by the name of Joseph Taylor Compher.

Alexander tends to try and space out whenever JT goes on about R’lyehian in class, but he’s never missed the frantic curiosity that JT  has whenever it’s brought up. He’s heard the story on more than one occasion: R’lyeh being a deserted island that houses a sleeping deity who supposedly will come back and wreak havoc across the Earth once again. It all sounded like a bunch of nonsense, but now… Alexander wasn’t sure what to think.

“I’ve talked to JT several times about it, yes. It’s a dangerous language, but he doesn’t listen to me when I try to get him to leave it be. Anyway, the book was called the Necronomicon. I’ve seen transcriptions of it, and it’s… it’s horrifying,” Philipp says with a shiver, “It’s essentially an encyclopedia for the occult. Not something to be taken lightly. Duchene either found a translator or somehow managed to learn to read R’lyehian, and then the whole… thing… happened, which ended in him becoming horribly disfigured.

“Eventually, the Necronomicon was recovered and taken into the government’s hands, and we destroyed that exact Egyptian book that you found in hopes that we wouldn’t have to deal with something of that magnitude again, but… it’s back somehow.”

Alexander simply sat in silence for a moment, trying to digest everything that Philipp had told him. A pool of dread sat in the pit of Alexander’s stomach as he thought it all over. Everything that he had hoped wasn’t true had just been confirmed. 

“You’re kidding, right? Please tell me you’re kidding about all of this.” His voice cracks as he tries and fails to keep himself calm and composed. He can’t find it in him to wholly believe everything that he was just told, his brain trying to deny it all.

Philipp leans forward in his chair and rests a hand on Alexander’s shoulder comfortingly before standing up. “I wish that I was. It’d make things a lot easier, no?”

Alexander tries not to think about it too hard, deciding that the return of that odd book most likely doesn’t mean anything. It’s probably nothing. Hopefully.

“I guess, yeah.” Alexander says with a resolved sigh, standing up alongside Philipp. “I should get going. I have European History with Dr. Soderberg in the morning.”

“I’ll walk you out,” Philipp says. “I’m sorry to have piled so much information onto you all at once, but… you were the one who asked, you know.” He offers Alexander a half smile.

“I know, it’s just. It’s weird how everything seems… interconnected.”

Philipp sighs and slings an arm around Alexander’s shoulder as they step out into the cold Arkham evening.

“You’re worried.”

“... Just a little, I guess.”

“I’m sure it’s nothing. And if it is something, it’ll work itself out. That’s just how things work here at Miskatonic.”

Somehow, that just makes Alexander feel worse.


	2. The Dormitories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh look, I finally continued this... I've just been writing it little by little in my free time. I'll finish it one day. Most likely. I love where it's going though!

Alexander hears about the commotion down by the river from his English literature teacher. A body had been found, shriveled up and covered in huge, dark green leech-like creatures that had slithered off as soon as anyone drew near. Apparently they were like nothing any biologist at the university had ever seen.

It’s a weird topic to bring up in a literature class, but… Professor Landeskog isn’t the most normal guy, and he’s best friends with one of the zoology professors.

Though, the whole thing sort of sets Alexander on edge for the rest of the day. He decides to head straight to the library after class, and he can’t help but look over his shoulder every now and then out of paranoia. He knows those leech things must have just been some weird undiscovered species, and that the body was most likely some poor soul who got a little too close to the river.

It’s odd, because everyone in Arkham knows better than to even think about going down to the river.

Alexander never learned why. He just remembers going to campus orientation and being told not to go down there. He thought it was best not to question it, and he sure as hell wasn’t even thinking about getting close to the river anytime soon. Especially after what had happened.

The large wooden doors open with a creak, and Alexander is immediately greeted with the sound of two arguing voices.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, JT. This is  _ dangerous _ .”

“But I _do_  know what I’m talking about! I do! You’re the only one who knows that I’m right! I know what those creatures are, and I-”

“You need to calm down before I throw you out of this library. For the last time, those days are behind me. I’m not getting involved. You can either quiet down and leave me out of this, or I can throw you out.”

Alexander stays frozen in place, watching the scene fold out in front of him. JT Compher is at the front desk, red in the face, fists clenched at his side. On the other side of the desk, Philipp’s face is like stone, jaw clenched as he stares down JT.

“Fine,” JT bites, “I’ll look into it myself. I don’t need your help. I don’t know why I asked.” The ginger turns suddenly, still glaring at Philipp, and runs right into Alexander, nearly causing him to fall over.

“Shit, sorry,” JT says, grabbing Alexander’s forearm to steady him.

“It’s alright. Maybe slow down a little, eh?” Alexander says, offering a small smile.

JT huffs out a small laugh, which is an entirely different emotion than Alexander is used to seeing on his face. “Yeah. Kerfoot, right?”’

“That’s me,” Alexander replies. He goes to move his arm, only to realize that JT’s still holding onto him. Alexander opens his mouth to say something, but suddenly JT’s eyes widen and he jerks away.

“Sorry. I--I gotta go. See you around.” He stammers before practically running off.

“Huh…” Alexander hums as he watches JT scramble out of the library. It’s immensely out of character for him to act so skittish, and Alexander is a bit intrigued.

“He’s going to get himself into trouble,” A voice says from behind Alexander, causing him to jump. “Be careful not to get too caught up with him.”

Alexander turns to find Philipp with his arms crossed, a rather stern look on his face. “He doesn’t know how to hold himself back. He’s obsessed, and it’s going to hurt him one day.”

With that, Philipp turns and goes to the desk where a few students are waiting to get their books checked out.

Alexander decides against spending his evening in the library.

 

~~~

 

Alexander runs to the dormitories as fast his body will let him in the freezing New England cold. Once inside, he ignores the fact that his lungs are burning and rushes up the stairs to his level. Luck, or some other fate-controlling deity, must be on his side, because as he turns the corner, he finds JT talking to someone in the hallway.

It’s the curly-haired man he’d met in the library just a few days earlier.

“You gotta trust me, Tys. I know what’s going on. It’s--it’s some kind of disease that's attracting those creatures. I don’t exactly know  _ how _ it’s getting spread, but--”

“That’s exactly why I’m nervous. You could get hurt. You don’t know how it’s caused, you don’t know what’s in that damn forest, you  _ don’t know.  _ I’m not letting you go into this blind. I don’t care how much you think you know.”

JT’s shoulders slump as he breathes out a sigh. “Tyson, I-”

“I’m not telling you to give the whole thing up. I’m not,” Tyson says, voice soft. “But could you  _ please _ try to find some more information first? Have you talked to Dr. Grubauer about it? Wasn’t he-”

“He was, yeah. He’s of no help now. There’s gotta be  _ someone  _ who knows  _ something _ . I just… I don’t know who.”

Alexander takes a breath and steps fully into the hallway, revealing himself to the two of them.

“Sorry to bother, I just--I couldn’t help but overhear, and--I want to help.” Alexander feels his face go a little red as Tyson and JT stare at him, blank expressions on their faces.

“Help how?” JT suddenly asks, voice sharp.

“Well… I think I know someone who might know something, I’m just... Not sure how easy it’ll be to get to him.”

JT looks like he’s about to interrogate Alexander, but Tyson cuts him off. “Hold on. We’re taking this somewhere private. The less people who know about this, the better.” Tyson says, shooting a look at JT. “Although… The more people who are willing to help, the better,” he sighs. “There’s power in groups.”

 

~~~

 

Alexander finds himself in JT’s dorm sitting at a small table alongside Tyson. The room is small, disorganized, with books strewn about. There’s black and white photographs and yellowed hand-written letters taped and pinned to the walls, and a record player sits in the corner. Alexander also can’t help but notice the Chicago Cubs baseball cap hanging from JT’s bedpost.

The place fits JT perfectly, and Alexander feels a bit… fond.

“Listen, Kerfoot, I know we’re in a few classes and all, but… I don’t really know you all too well aside from the fact that you’re a bit of a teacher’s pet. How do I know we can trust you?” JT says, shrugging off his suit jacket.

“Well,” Alexander starts, “I only learned about all this… occult… stuff a few days ago. I know, like, the bare minimum and I’m curious to know more, I guess. I heard about what happened by the river, and I got talking to Dr. Grubauer about this book I found--”

“What book?” JT asks, freezing suddenly.

“It’s not the Necronomicon, if that’s what you’re asking. It was an Egyptian mythology book.”

“Oh hey,” Tyson pipes up. “That’s the book you were checking out when we met, right? That thing looked unreal, honestly.”

“Yeah, that’s it,” Alexander says.

JT suddenly stands from the table and starts pacing. “Egyptian mythology, huh? I’m gonna take a shot in the dark here and guess that this has something to do with Nyarlathotep?”

“I--yeah, but I don’t think that’s got anything to do with what’s going on…”

Alexander explains to them what Philipp had told him about Professor Duchene and how he stole the Necronomicon a few years before they’d began attending Miskatonic University.

“So my idea is,” Alexander concludes, “that if we talk to Duchene, we could possibly learn something.”

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea…” Tyson says timidly, speaking up for the first time. “In one of my classes we studied a case where something similar happened to some old guy… He was completely insane. He wouldn’t sleep because he was afraid of dreaming… He was also deformed, and his obsession completely consumed him.” Tyson looks down at the table and JT walks around and rests a comforting hand on his shoulder. “He’s not the only one like that," Tyson continues, "there’s been tons of less severe cases, but no one’s sure about the exact cause.”

“So Duchene’s a lost cause,” JT asks flatly.

“I mean, not entirely. You might be able to understand what he’s talking about better than most, considering all the research you’ve done,” Tyson says a bit reluctantly.

JT suddenly turns to Alexander, determined. “Where is he now?”

“I think Dr. Grubauer said he’s being held at the Arkham Mental Hospital. I doubt they’d let us in, though, isn’t that place super secure?”

JT and Tyson share a look, and Tyson scrubs a hand over his face. “I’ve tried so, so hard not to get involved with this all, but… I’ll talk to Professor Francouz. I’ve got an idea.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!!! Let me know what you think so far. I've had a lot of fun coming up with this story!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Please let me know if this is something I should continue writing! Comments and kudos are very much appreciated!
> 
> Also, I've recently changed my tumblr url! You can find me on there @trans-parayko !


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